level 5:

Floating Zones

A floating zone is a flexible zone that is used to encourage a certain, desirable kind of development. A parcel of land will be zoned one way — for single family residences, for example — with a provision in the zoning law that with the right project proposal, the planning committee could recommend the zone be changed.

Variances

A variance is permission granted by the government so that property may be used in a manner not allowed by the current zoning.

Eminent Domain: Condemnation

Condemnation is the governmental act of seizing private land through exercise of eminent domain. Eminent domain is the right the government has to snatch property, and condemnation is the process by which they do it.

Public Land-Use Controls: Escheat

Escheat is the legal doctrine by which the decedent's property will pass to the state without their consent if that individual dies without a will, a surviving spouse, lineal descendants, or other known heirs. Escheat can also be used if a property is abandoned by the owner.

Historic or Landmark Districts

Generally, these laws are administered by a municipal agency. They might prevent certain kinds of development in historic districts, require property owners in those districts to use certain materials or historically appropriate styles for updates to their homes, or just place plaques and other interpretive signage on buildings with historical significance.

4 types of public land use controls

Police Power: Right of the state to regulate and restrict land-use in order to protect the public, including enforcing zoning and building codes Eminent Domain: Right of the state to seize a citizen's private property for public use without the owner's consent but with compensation Taxation: Right of the state to charge real estate taxes to pay for services provided by the government Escheat: Right of the state to seize a deceased person's estate if an individual dies without a will and has no surviving spouse, lineal descendants, or other known heirs

what is the Public Land-Use Controls called Police Power?

Police power is the government right to regulate and restrict land use in order to protect the public. The right includes the power to enforce zoning and building codes.

plat patterns (Curvilinear)

The curvilinear pattern integrates major feeder roads with smaller streets and cul-de-sacs. While the varied road patterns in a curvilinear system prevent monotony and increase open space, this approach generally minimizes service alleys and the more complex road patterns can be difficult to navigate. Overall, however, the curvilinear plat system provides for quieter and safer neighborhoods.

plat pattern (Gridiron)

The gridiron pattern evolved from the rectangular survey system. It features large lots, wide streets, and some limited-use service alleys. Sidewalks usually run parallel to the street, possibly separated from the road by a small, grassy area.

Police Power: Subdivision Regulations

These are similar to zoning laws, but describe specifically how subdivisions can be created, rules for how land can be parceled out, how dense they can be, and other zoning-adjacent issues.

what are four main types of land-use controls that fall under the scope of police power?

Zoning Building codes Subdivision regulations Application of rules

Common Zoning Classifications

/Residential/Commercial/Agricultural/Industrial/Agricultural/Institutional/Open space/Vacant land/Recreational.

what are two parts to creating zoning ordinances?

1.Making a zoning map. This involves carving up the whole town into pieces, and assigning each piece a type of zoning. 2.Outlining the permitted uses. Rules are created for what is allowed (and not allowed) in each zone.

what's a Master Plans?

A master plan balances the area's social and economic needs against its environmental and aesthetic ones. Zoning regulations are based off of the priorities set forth in the plan.

The Master Plan

A master plan is a written document created by the local planning board to guide the future growth and development of a community.

Nonconforming Use

A nonconforming use is when a property was operating within zoning law, but then the law changed in a way that prohibits the established use. Nonconforming uses are usually allowed to continue but cannot expand.

How are Subdivisions Are Made?

A subdivider(or just called a developer) is the person who creates the development and separates out the land, and a developer is the person who builds on the land and sells the homes

3 types of variances

A use variance/An area variance/A special use permit

What do Planning Boards do?

Advise legislators and other boards on matters of planning Create the master plan or comprehensive plan for their community Develop a capital budget to fund planning initiatives Create criteria for and approve new developments and subdivisions Advise the zoning board of appeals on granting variances, if necessary

what's a Certificate of Occupancy

After a building is completed but before it can be put into use, it must undergo a final inspection. If everything is deemed up to code, a certificate of occupancy is issued... A certificate of occupancy, or CO, is necessary for the building to be sold or occupied. For renovations, a similar certificate of compliance certifies that the project has been completed up to code... Never advise a client to purchase a building that does not have a valid CO.

What Happens After the Plan Is Adopted?

After the plan is adopted, the planning board can suggest or implement specific policy actions (like amending zoning ordinances) to carry out the goals of the plan. While the city council or other municipal government will actually pass the zoning ordinances, it's the job of the planning board to advise them as they draft the legislation.

an amendment

Another kind of change a zoning board of appeals can make is an amendment. An amendment is also changing the zoning on just a single home or parcel of land. The difference is, spot zoning benefits the land owner only, while an amendment is made for the benefit of the community, or in accordance with a master plan.

as-of right zoning

As-of right development is development that doesn't require approval from a community board, planning board, or zoning board of appeals because it falls within the zoning standards for the area. As-of right zoning allows for as-of right development.

Zoning Fairness Test

Be clear and specific Be applied equally Be free from discrimination (which is also prohibited by federal law) Be reasonable

how are Subdivision Approved?

Before approving a new subdivision, planning boards will often require the subdividers or developers to do things like set aside land for streets, schools, and green space; assure them sewer and street costs will be paid; and demonstrate that lot sizes comply with local zoning and fire safety ordinances. Before offering lots in a subdivision for sale, a subdivider must: File a plat map with the municipality (a plat map shows how the tract of land will be subdivided). Get all necessary regulatory approvals.

Building Codes vs. Zoning Ordinances

Both building codes and zoning ordinances deal with how land is used. Zoning ordinances deal more directly with the land..The inside part of development is the purview of building codes. While there's some overlap — zoning limits what kind of buildings can exist and at what density, and sometimes what kind of facade a building can have - generally, zoning deals with land and building code deals with buildings...

Buffer Zones

Buffer zones are areas that separate two different zones to give each one a little breathing room. Like maybe you don't want your residential zone right up against the edge of your industrial zone, so you slide a buffer zone in there with a nice little park, berm, or other transitional space. A buffer zone is not dictated by zoning rules. Instead, it's chosen by developers and planners to make an area more pleasant for the people in the adjoining zones.

Police Power: Building Codes

Building codes are sets of regulations pertaining to building design, materials, safety, sanitation, and structure. not its aesthetics or appearance....an inspector examine the building and if it's compliant the inspector issues a certificate of occupancy or an occupancy permit, which certifies that it is ready and fit for inhabitants.

Laws of Descent and Distribution

Dying without a will is called dying intestate, and it's not great to do, because it means your estate will be settled by a slow, expensive process called probate

Public Land-Use Controls: Eminent Domain

Eminent domain is the power of government to seize private property for public use. The government must pay the property owner just compensation. Just compensation means a fair value for the property that has been taken. The most common uses of property taken by eminent domain are railroads, public utilities, and highways.

what are the two types of plat patterns

Gridiron Curvilinear

What Does Zoning Regulate?

How land is used.. Minimum lot size.. Maximum building height.. Kinds of structures that are allowed.. Setback.. Density.. Parking spaces.. How air rights can be transferred.. How natural resources can be used in the area.. How much land is set aside for public use and infrastructure.. Historic preservation and landmark sites.. Limits on accessory buildings.. Lot coverage.

Inverse Condemnation

Inverse condemnation is when the government appropriates a private property without compensating the property owner. In order to be compensated, the owner must then sue the government. In such cases, the owner is the plaintiff in the suit, and that is why the action is called inverse. In direct condemnation, the government is the plaintiff and sues a defendant-owner to take their property.

Upzoning and Downzoning

Municipalities will often change zoning regulations or change an area's zoning classification to reflect changes in city planning priorities, perhaps as a result of an updated master plan.

How Zoning Is Enforced

One way that zoning is enforced is with building permits. To begin building something, you need a permit issued by the local department of buildings. To obtain that permit, a builder or architect must submit plans to the city to be approved. If those plans don't conform to local zoning regulations and building code, it's not going to get approved.

what are four basic types of public land-use controls?

P is for Police Power E is for Eminent Domain T is for Taxation E is for Escheat (so think of pete)

Probate

Probate is a process by which courts determine and grant the appropriate ownership interest of an estate to creditors, taxing entities, and heirs of an owner who dies intestate. Your heirs will likely not be pleased to have to go through probate, and you won't get to determine which of them gets what.

Variance or Spot Zoning?

Spot zoning differs from having a variance granted. A variance keeps the zoning law as it is but allows one property to break the law, while spot zoning changes the law, but just for a small spot of land. While the criteria for granting a variance are different from municipality to municipality, the general standard is that the zoning is creating an unnecessary hardship for the property owner or is preventing them from using or profiting from their property.

Spot Zoning

Spot zoning is rezoning a small parcel of land for a use classification totally different from that of the surrounding area for the benefit of the owner of that property and to the detriment of other property owners. Illegal spot zoning can be hard to prove, but it is not something a municipality that believes in its master plan should be getting into.

Subdivision Regulations vs. Deed Restrictions

Subdivision regulations are laws passed by municipal governments, while deed restrictions are put in place by private citizens, either developers or homeowners.

Public Land-Use Controls: Taxation

Taxation is a charge on real estate that is used to pay for services provided by the government.

what's Sprawl?

The Opposite of Urban Planning... It's defined as low-density, monofunctional, car-dependent communities. It's also called suburbanization.

Use Variance vs. Special Use Permit

The difference between a use variance and a special use permit is that a special use permit is a use that is not the primary use of the zone, but is outlined within the zoning ordinance as potential special use. The use variance is for any outside-of-zone use that a property owner is trying to get permission for.

Aesthetic Zoning

The primary purpose of aesthetic zoning is to require that new buildings conform to specific types of architecture or appearance. For example, you might not be able to build your house out of glass if all of the other houses in the area are, well, not built out of glass...Aesthetic zoning is most common in developments that perceive themselves to be "upscale"

Cluster Zoning

The way cluster zoning works is that density is determined for an entire area, instead of on a lot-by-lot basis. Cluster zoning is often used for group homes, senior living facilities, and affordable housing. It creates close, walkable or bikeable communities surrounded by green space that can be used for parks, recreation areas, or simply open space for wildlife habitat and water reclamation.

Police Power: Application of Rules

This idea says that when there is a difference between a government restriction and a private restriction, the strictest restriction will be applied.

what's a last resort for eminent domain?

To eminently domain a property, the government must sue the owner in what's called a condemnation suit. Keep in mind that eminent domain is a last resort. If the government needs a property, it will first try to buy the property from its owner in the usual way, with the owner's consent.

Getting Grandfathered

What happens with nonconforming structures and lots is up to the laws of a particular municipality, though generally, as long as the nonconforming use doesn't cause potential safety or health hazards, it's allowed. This is called being grandfathered, which means that existing structures are not required to change to meet new zoning regulations.

The Zoning Board of Appeals

When a municipality creates zoning laws, they usually also create a zoning board of appeals. The zoning board of appeals has two main jobs: (To interpret the zoning law) (To grant variances and special-use permits to people who want to break the zoning law)

what are the 4 types of Police Power

Zoning Building codes Subdivision regulations Application of rules

Police Power: Zoning

Zoning is the division of land within a jurisdiction into separate districts. In these districts, uses are permitted, prohibited, or permitted with conditions. Zoning regulates the use of land. Zoning is done by creating zoning ordinances, which are local laws that control how land is used and what structures can be built in a designated district.

A use variance

a variance that permits a use of land which is proscribed by the zoning regulations. It deals with types of use. So, for example, a restaurant that wanted to open up in a residential area would need a use variance.

area variance

a variance that permits the use of land in a manner which is not allowed by the dimensional or physical requirements of the applicable zoning regulations. It deals with the physical land. For example, a property that wanted to use a smaller-than-zoned-for setback would need an area variance.

special use permit

allows specific kinds of uses in a zone that aren't the main use of that zone, as long as the property owner meets certain requirements. For example, a church in a residentially zoned area or a restaurant for workers in an industrially zoned area would need a special use permit. Allowed special uses are outlined in the zoning ordinance itself.

Nonconforming structures

are structures that no longer meet zoning requirements, and nonconforming lots are lots that no longer meet zoning requirements.

Inclusionary Zoning

is a type of incentive zoning that offers density bonuses to developers for including affordable housing, senior housing, or multi-unit housing in a development.... Inclusionary zoning has the dual benefits of being free to the municipality that offers it — unlike tax credit incentives, there is no cost, just greater density — and creating mixed-use, mixed-age, or mixed-income communities.

Downzoning

is the opposite — changing an area's zoning to restrict the density. This is accomplished by making lot requirements larger, less square footage per lot, increasing setback and side yard requirements, etc.

Incentive zoning

is when zoning ordinances are relaxed (usually adding more density than would normally be allowed, which is called a density bonus) because a developer is building something deemed in the public interest.

Upzoning

refers to changing an area's zoning to allow more density. That can involve allowing smaller buildable lots, more square footage per lot, higher buildings, smaller side yard or setback requirements, or allowing multi-family housing to be built.

Jerome wants to convert an old home in a residentially-zoned area into a restaurant. What kind of variance does he need?

use variance.... He wants to use the building for something it's not zoned for, so he needs a use variance.